


Doctors &; Nurses

by littlemisscurious



Series: Tom, Emmy, Ben, Ellie, Paula, Max and Sophie [20]
Category: Actor RPF, British Actor RPF, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: Comfort, Family, Fluff, Gen, Illness, Nightmare, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-29
Updated: 2013-11-29
Packaged: 2018-01-02 22:33:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1062433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlemisscurious/pseuds/littlemisscurious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>based on a prompt I received earlier this week...features the characters from 'River'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Doctors &; Nurses

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [River](https://archiveofourown.org/works/812262) by [littlemisscurious](https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlemisscurious/pseuds/littlemisscurious). 



**Doctors & Nurses**

****

_“You really think you can do that on your own, huh? You really think you can be a father to our children without my help?” Her loud, shrill laughter echoes through his head, her face distorted in a visage of disgust and mockery. “Elizabeth, stop it. You don’t mean it. Stop it!” Screaming at her, he takes a step back, tears of pain and helplessness running down his cheeks while Emiliana and Benjamin are lying in their cots, whimpering with fear and confusion. The woman in front of him, a stranger in his wife’s body, looks at them before she slowly walks towards him, her grey eyes cold and without any love at all. “You are a failure, Tom Hiddleston. And you always will be, especially when it comes to our children. You...Are...A...Failure!” Emphasising every single word, her face is only centimetres away from his now, her cold breath wafting over his heated skin. He tries to take another step back but fails as his back meets the stone wall of his bedroom. His children’s cries sound in his ears as he closes his eyes. Doubts are filling his mind and his heart, doubts about his ability of being a single father._

_Maybe she is right. Maybe he really is a failure._

***

"Good morning gorgeous. Did you sleep well?" With a loving smile Paula welcomes Emmy into the kitchen while the little girl tries to wipe the sleep out of her eyes. "Yes, I did," she replies quietly, walking over to the young woman, lifting her arms up. "Oh, do I get a cuddle?" Picking her up and pressing a kiss onto her cheek, the young woman holds her close, relishing the girl’s trust and warmth towards her. "Why is Daddy not downstairs yet?" Still feeling tired, Emiliana leans her head onto her au pair's shoulder, closing her eyes once more. "I think your Daddy is a bit ill. Why don't we have breakfast first and then we'll check on him again, hm?. He needs plenty of rest at the moment to feel better soon," Paula explains quietly, setting her gently on her chair before she places a bowl of cereal in front of her. Nodding, the Emmy starts eating breakfast, her munching now being the only sound in the room.

It doesn’t take long, though, before quiet footsteps on the stairs announce the arrival of her twin brother and Paula walks slowly towards the kitchen door to wish him a good morning, too. It warms her heart as Ben walks down the last stair and looks at her with a wide, beaming smile before he jumps into her arms. “Good morning, my dear,” the blonde mumbles against his curls and he replies an equally happy good morning. “Where is Daddy?,” he asks, his voice laced with surprise as his dad is normally the first one down in the morning. “Daddy is ill. He is still sleeping,” Emmy answers after taking another mouthful of her Weetabix, drops of milk now running down her chin.

“We should make him some tea later. And maybe some porridge. Grandma said porridge is good for you when you have an upset tummy,” the young box explains, proud at having remembered that, while Paula hands him his own bowl of Rice Crispies. “I see I’ve got very capable helpers by my side,” she grins and the two children beam at her widely.

***

Panting, Tom sits up in bed. His hair, drenched with sweat, sticks to his forehead while he blinks away the darkness of his dream. With an exhausted sigh, he leans against his headboard, a single tear rolling down his cheek, which he quickly wipes away. From downstairs he can hear the laughter of his children and the tinkling of cutlery against porcelain bowls.

His children! They are okay. He is okay.

_Elizabeth is dead._

Letting out a quiet sob, he buries his face in his hands, trying to replace the horrid memories of that dream with real and wonderful images of his wife. He thinks about her face on their wedding day, her glowing form when she was pregnant with their twins. He pictures again her joy at holding her daughter for the very first time and, shortly after, the tears of happiness at the sight of their little baby boy. That is the real Elizabeth, the loving mother and wife that she was, not that awful creature using her body, her face, her voice to nurture his doubts in his dreams over and over again during those last few nights.

 

“Daddy, are you okay?” Quickly, he looks up, sniffing once, quietly, while he pretends that everything is alright. “Emmy! Yes, yes of course I am. Just feeling a bit funny. It’s probably just an upset tummy or so,” he smiles at his daughter, patting the mattress beside him. Without hesitation, the little girl climbs onto his bed and cuddles up to him. “You’re hot, Daddy,” Emiliana remarks, placing her small hand onto his forehead, just like he always does when he suspects she has a fever. “I’m okay, don’t worry,” Tom whispers, gently taking her hand and pressing a kiss onto the back of it, which makes her giggle. “I think you have a fever, Daddy. Let me go and get Paula, she will know what to do!”

Before he can hold her back, she jumps off the bed again and runs out of the room, calling for her au pair. Closing his eyes, he lies back down under the duvet, trying to ignore the throbbing in his head. Small footsteps announce the arrival of his son shortly after, though, and he opens his eyes once more. “Hey buddy,” Tom smiles at Benjamin who is standing in the doorway, clutching his duvet. “I brought you an extra blanket. Paula said you are a bit ill so I thought you might need it,” he mumbles shyly and walks towards the bed, almost tripping over one corner of the duvet. “That is very nice of you, Ben. Thank you!” He helps his son up the bed before Ben places the children’s duvet over him, tucking him in just as his dad does every night.

 

A quiet knock on the door makes Tom look away from him and Paula’s blond hair appears in the doorway. “Hey there. How are you feeling? I brought you some tea that the children and I made and I also brought the thermometer because Emmy said your skin feels hot. Do you want me to go down to the Pharmacy or anything?” She looks at him with a worried smile while his daughter enters the room once more, carefully placing an empty porcelain mug onto the bedside table ere she joins him and Ben on the bed again, her little red doctor’s bag firmly in her other hand.

Sitting up a little, Tom smiles at her thankfully. “Maybe you could get me some paracetamol. I’m not sure if we’ve still got some in the house, to be honest. Other than that I’m fine. I just need some rest and I guess I’ve got pretty capable doctors and nurses by my side,” he winks, pointing at his children who are already busy examining the contents of the doctor’s bag.

“Daddy, you need to take your shirt off,” Emiliana announces matter-of-factly, the little plastic stethoscope in her hand. “I’ll leave you to it. Back in a moment,” Paula winks and leaves the room after placing the teapot on the bedside table. “Um, okay,” he chuckles, taking of his slightly sweaty shirt while his children prepare for his ‘examination’. “So, doctor. How ill am I?,” Tom asks quietly after a moment but Emmy shushes him while placing the end of the stethoscope on various places on his naked chest. “Turn your head, Daddy. I need to look into your ears,” Benjamin mumbles and, trying to hide a smile, Tom does as he is told.

 

His head is still aching and he feels tired and exhausted but after this horrible dream there’s no better cure than the smiling and excited faces of his children as they pretend to be doctors curing his ‘mysterious’ illness. They examine him further, making him cough and say “ahh” before they pack away their instruments, mumbling quietly to each other. “So...can I be cured?,” Tom asks as seriously as he possibly can and Emmy and Ben turn towards him with solemn faces. “Well. The good news first. You can be healed. The bad news is, you can only get well again by drinking lots of tea, by spending all day in bed, and by watching The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” Emiliana announces their verdict and Ben beside her nods with a grave expression on his little face.

Pretending to be shocked, Tom pulls the duvet up to his chin. “Really? Oh wow...but watching it alone would be kind of boring, don’t you think?,” he whispers which earns him approving nods of his twins. “That’s why we have decided to be kind enough to join you,” Ben replies, now barely able to suppress his grin. Tom chuckles himself now and it doesn’t take long until his children are howling with laughter, proud at their obvious cunningness in tricking their father to watch a film with them.

 

“Why don’t you get the DVD then, Ben, and Emmy, could you get me a shirt from the top drawer, please?,” he smiles at them before pouring himself a cup of peppermint tea. Without hesitation, the two of them jump off the bed and while Benjamin runs downstairs to fetch the DVD and some of their homemade Christmas biscuits, Emiliana walks over to Tom’s wardrobe, carefully opening the top drawer. “What colour would you like, Daddy?,” she smiles at him, her grey eyes sparkling with life. “You choose for me, sweetheart,” he answers, observing her as she tenderly pulls a shirt out of the stack. As if she knew about his horrible dream, Emmy holds up his “Avengers Stunt Team” shirt, which Elizabeth had gotten made for the entire stunt team back when she was working as head of the wardrobe department of Marvel’s The Avengers. “Excellent choice, my love,” he whispers, his heart filled with pride and love as she smiles at him widely.

 

“Are you feeling better, Daddy?,” Ben whispers in the middle of the film, all three of them lying, cuddled up, under a pile of blankets. “Yes I am, Ben. Thanks for looking after me so well,” Tom replies quietly, placing a kiss onto his son’s forehead ere he closes his eyes to catch up on some sleep, his children already deeply engrossed in the film again.

***

_“Tom, don’t be silly. Of course you’ll be a great father,” Elizabeth whispers, hugging him from behind while his eyes rest on their newest sonogram. “But...it’s not one but two. How are we going to manage with two?,” he mumbles, his fingers gliding over the outlines of their babies, their twins, on the black and white paper. “One for you and one for me,” Elizabeth chuckles, kissing him on the cheek, relieved when she can hear him laugh as well. “Oh dear, what would I do without you?”_

_Slowly, he turns around in her embrace, one hand cradling her bump, the other now resting on her cheek. “Well, you wouldn’t become father of twins in a couple of weeks,” his wife grins at him, making him chuckle once more. “True. But that would be awfully boring and lonely. I’m rather with you, future father of twins without sleep and covered in baby powder and saliva rather than being all on my own,” Tom whispers, his blue eyes twinkling with happiness and love. “That is awfully good to know,” Elizabeth replies with a beaming smile ere she places her lips gently on his._


End file.
